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(No Model.)

' s Sheets-Sheet 1. RB. ROBINSON. v COIN GONTROLLED SPIROMETER.

v No. 416,859. Patented DQG. 10, 1889.

Nv PEIERS, Pholo-Lilhogm hur. washin mn, D. \':V

3 SheetsSheet 3/ (No Model.)

P. B. ROBINSON. COIN UONTI'ROLLED SPIRQMETEE.

No. 416,859. Patented Dec. 10, 1889.

m M M N. wzrzns. Phollrljllwgrzplmr. Washington, 0,4:

UNITED STA ES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK ENROBIN SON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONEHALF TO JOHND. SUTTER, OF SAME PLACE.

COIN-CONTROLLED SP] ROM ETER.,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,859, dated December10, 1889.

I Application filed September 19, 1889. Serial No. 324,457. (No niodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK E. ROBIN- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLung-Test ers, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to spirometers .or lung-testers, with the objectin view to provide such an apparatus, that with blowing into a flexiblepipe will indicate the capacity of the lungs only after depositing acoin of a certain denomination into an orifice leading therein, to beautomatically returned to the depositor through another orifice afterthe required degree of capacity of the lungs has been demonstrated,andthat otherwise will retain the coin thus deposited as a fee for the useof the apparatus; and with these objects in view my invention consistsof the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter describedand specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l representsa front elevation ofthe interior of the apparatus, the front of the casing being removed;Fig. 2, a side elevation of the interior of the same, one side of thecasing being removed. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the apparatus;Figs. 4, 5, and 6, a plan, front, and side elevation of theautomaticallytraveling brake-shoe and the main shaft; Figs. 7 and 8, afront elevation and sectional side elevation of the air-escape valve andits automatic lifting device. Fig. 9 isa sectional elevation of theair-escape valve, and Fig. 10 a front elevation; Fig. 11, a transversevertical section on line w m in Fig. 10, and Fig. 12 a plan view of thecoin holder and carrier.

Corresponding referential characters in the several figures of thedrawings designate like parts. V v

In the bottom of a casing 1 is arranged a reservoir divided by avertical'diaphragm 2 into a chamber 3 and 4, communicating through anopening below diaphragm 2. The chamber 3 of this reservoir ishermetically closed on top, only communicating with a pipe 5, the upperelbow end of which is projected through the front of easing l, where ithas coupled a flexible tube 6, provided with a mouth-piece 7. Thechamber 4 of the reservoir is upwardly extended and contains a float 8,rigidly secured to the bottom end of a vertical rod 9, projected througha hole in the top of such chamber, and with its upper end guided in ahole of a cross-bar 10 of casing 1. The reservoir being filled withwater to near the top of chamber 3, byblowing into mouth-piece 7 thepressure produced will displace a part of the water contained in chamber3, forcing the same info chamber 4,

wherein, with rising, the Water will lift float- 6 8 proportionally totheamount of air forced into chamber 3. Near its upper end is adjustably secured upon rod 9 by a set-screw a collar 11, provided with ahook or eye for connecting therewith one end of a cord orchain 7o 12,the opposite end of which cord or chain, after winding upon the rim of apolicy 13 one or several revolutions, is secured on such pulley. Thispulley 13 is rigidly mounted upon a shaft 14 pivoted in suitablebearings between the front and rear casing l, and upon this shaft isalso rigidly mounted a pulley 15, upon the rim of which is wound andsecured a cord or chain 16, passed over a pulley 17, and having a weightsuspended to its opposite end. The pulley 17 is rigidly mounted upon ashaft 19, pivoted in a suit able bearing in the rear of the casing and Vprojected through the front of the casing, where an indicator-arrow 20is secured thereon in front of an index-dial 21,,graduated to indicatethe amount or pressure of the air forced into the reservoir. It willbereadily seen that the lifting of float 8 and rod 9 Will thus rotateshaft 14, from which again, by 0 cord 16, the motion will be transmittedto shaft 19, carrying the indicator-arrow 20.

Upon cross-bars 22 of thecasingare secured longitudinal bars 23 andv 24,both on horizontal lines parallel with each other and 5 one verticallyin a' line above the other. These bars 23 and 24 provide; a track for acarriage 25, consisting of a rectangular frame that has holes in theupper portion of its side bars for bar 23to pass through, and an eye2600 to its bottom bar for bar 24 to pass through, in l a manner that thiscarriage will be supported. 1

and guided on bars 23 and 24 to reciprocate horizontally thereon. To aneye 27 of the top bar of carriage is secured the end of a chain or cord28, the opposite end of which being secured to the rim of a pulley 29,also rigidly mounted upon shaft 14; and to an eye 30 of the top bar ofcarriage 25 is secured one end of a cord 31, which, after passing over asheave 32, pivotally secured in a bracket of one of the upper cross-bars22, has suspended to its opposite end a weight Thus the rotation ofshaft 14, by the rising and sinking of float 8, will also-reciprocatethe carriage 25. In about the middle of its top bar the carriage 25 hasfixed a spout 34, which, when said carriage is on its extreme left-handposition, will be in position just below an inclined spout 35, projectedthrough the front of casing 1, where it communicates with the slot of aplate 36, into which a coin being dropped will slide down through spout35 into spout 34. The carriage 25 is also provided with a vertical rod37 and an angular rod 38, both serving as guides for a beam 39 to slideup and down thereon on an angular course corresponding with the angle ofrod 38, while for rod 37 7 said beam is longitudinally slotted, and toclear the beam 39 on its vertical movement the side-bars of carriage 25are notched on its upper position, will engage the lower end of spout34, and which is concaved between said prongs, while the upper end oflever 40 is chamfered to provide a seat for a coin of theintended.denomination, which, when dropped through spout 34, will restbe-. hind the. concave of plate 42. v

The beam 39, with pendulum-lever 40, is counterbalanced by a lever 43,mounted upon a shaft 44, pivoted in suitable bearings in the front andrear plates of easing 1. A rod 45, secured to beam 39, is extendedupward through a slot 46 in the top bar of carriage 25, and the upperextremity of this rod 45 is provided with an eye coupled to the end ofthe longer arm of lever 43 by a cord or chain 4'7, while to the hook endof the opposite shorter arm of lever 43 is suspended a rod 48, carryinga cup-shaped weight 49, into which, for accurate adjustment, shot can beadded. The counterbalancing is so adjusted that the weight 49 will raisethe beam 39 with pendulum-lever 40, and will hold it to its upperposition as long as no coin is placed therein, but that the weight ofthe coin inserted will cause the beam to sink to its lowermost position,thereby lifting the weight 49. Against the rear face of the lowerportion of pendulum-lever 40 is pivoted again a small pendulum-lever 50,the upwardly-extending arm of which will butt against a shoulder 51,allowing such lever 50 only'to swing to one side,

and being held stiff toward the other side. This lever 50 is rigid, withits pivot-pin 52 projected through a hole in lever 40, and having to itsforwardly-projecting end a gravitating crank 53, tending to hold saidlever 50 on its vertical position. The carriage 25 being pulledhorizontally toward shaft 14, by the rotation of such shaft from therising of float S the lower end of pendulum-lever 50, when passing theupturned end of a bar 54, will pass over such bar end by swinging toclear the same, while, with returning, said lever 50 being held fromswinging by shoulder 51, the lever 40 will have to swing sufficient forthe coin to roll out from behind plate 42, and again with moving thecarriage 25 far enough to the right until the lower end of lever 40 willbe brought in contact with another bar 55 it will be swung in theopposite direction sutliciently for the coin to roll out. Both bars 54and 55 are secured to the lower cross-bars 22, and the bar 55 may beadjustably secured for regulating the distance of the carriage 25to-travel before the coin is dropped by lever 40.

The operation of the above is that, after a coin has been inserted tosink the beam 39 with lever 40 down to its lowest position in carriage25 and then blowing air into the reservoir, the carriage will move toward the right,

and when sufficient air-pressure is applied for the carriage 25 to reacha position where the lever 40 is turned by bar 55, so the coin isdischarged from lever 40, this coin will drop upon an incline .56,whence, through an orifice in the front of the casing, it will drop intoa cup 57, and is thus returned to the operator; but when the lung-poweris not suflicient for moving the carriage 25 the required distance, thecarriage, with returning, will bring the lower end of lever 50 intocontact with the end of bar 54, whereby the coin is discharged to remaininside the easing, into a receiver placed therein in proper position,

and is then lost to the operator. The angular down movement of beam 39,guided by rod 38, is to correspond with the curved path of the end oflever 43 to hold rod 45 and cord 47 as near as possible on a verticalline during the time the beam 39 with lever 40 is on its down course,after which the cord 47 and lever 43 will accommodate themselves to themovement of the carriage 25.

For the purpose that the apparatus may not be used as a lung-testerwithout first depositing a coin into the orifice of plate 36, I havearranged above shaft 14 a horizontal plate 58, secured between the frontand rear of easing 1, and this plate 58, I provide with guide-strips 59,for a shoe 60 to slide between. To one end of shoe 60, I secure one endof a cord or chain 61, the opposite end of which, after passing over asheave 62, is secured upon the rim of a pulley 63, rigidly mounted uponshaft 14. The opposite-end of shoe 60 has attached one end of a cord 'orchain 64, which, after being passed over asheave 65',

IIS 7 has suspended to its opposite end a weight 66. The rod 48,suspended to lever 43, when on its down position extends with its lowerend past the chamfered end of sheave 60 into a hole in plate 58, so thatsaid shoe 60 will butt against rod 48 as long as the same has not beenlifted to clear 7 said shoe 60 by the inserting of a coin, and will thusbe prevented from moving, whereby the shaft 14 will be prevented fromrotating, which, again, will prevent the float 8 from rising by blowingair into the reservoir.

For the purpose that a person may not be able to move the carriage byintermittent blowing-that is, by closing the mouth-piece 7 with the lipswhile taking in a new breath of air through the nose and then blowingwith renewed forceI have connected with pipe 5 a gravitatingsafety-valve 67 and an air-stop valve 68, which latter is to be adjustedto allow a small leakage of air, while the stem of valve 67 is coupledto the end of a horizontal rod 69, guided in bifurcated brackets 70 ofthe valve-casing and pivotally coupled with its opposite end to an eye-screw 71,- secured into the rear face of the front plate of easing 1.Upon this rod 69 is sleeved a pendent pawl 72, that with its lower endrides upon the serrated rim of a large wheel 73, a segment of which rimis notched out. This wheel 73 is rigidly mounted upon a shaft 74, havingalso mounted two pulleys 75 and 76, the one 75 having a cord or chain 77secured with one end, to the opposite end of which is suspended a weight78, and the other pulley 76 also having a cord or chain 79 wound thereonand secured with one end, while its opposite end is secured upon apulley 80, rigidly mounted upon a shaft 81, that also has mounted asmall pulley 82, upon which is wound and secured one end of a cord orchain 83, being coupled with its opposite end to the hook of a collar84, adjusta bly secured upon rod 9 by a set-screw.

The small amount of air escaping through valve 68 will not be ofconsequence with a steady blow of air into mouth-piece 7 where- 1 by asthe float 8 rises the wheel 73 will be rotated in the direction of thearrow, loosely serratures, will move with such wheel 73 uni i L til,butting against stud 85, secured to the casing of valve 67, and withbeing swung to a vertical position, this pawl 72 will lift valve 67 andwill allow the air to escape through the open side nozzle 86 of thecasing of such valve, when at once thefloat will sink, and all themoving parts of the apparatus will be automatically reversed by theseveral counwithout engagement, and the wheel 73 can :contihue to berotated in the reverse direction by the tension of weight 78 untilreach- ;ing its starting-point, where the rim of such wheel 73 has asegmental notch 87 for the pawl 72 to be released of its support on the-wheel, and the valve 67 will be closed by its own gravity and thegravity of rod 69. Thus it will be readily seen that with dropping acoin into orifice 36 and then blowing into mouth-piece 7 the carriage25, the brake-shoe 60, and the wheel 73 will all be moving with therising of float 8, and with a sufficient uninterrupted blast of air thecoin will bedischarged into receptacle 57; that without first dropping acoin into the apparatus the brake shoe 60 will prevent the parts frommoving, and that a suspended blast of air will open valve 67 for the airto escape.

A niche 88, with a glass plate 89 in its inward end, may be provided,through which glass the plate 42, with the coin deposited behind, can beseen as moving along sidewise,

and against the front of the apparatusmay be secured a forked bracket90, for holding the mouthpiece 7 and supporting hose 6 while not used.

What I claim is- 1. The combination, with reservoirs 3 and 4, diaphragm2, pipe 5, with flexible pipe 6, and with float 8, of shaft 19, carryingindicator-arrow 20, and of suitable connections between such float 8 andshaft 19, by which the rising and falling of the float will rotate suchshaft, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with reservoirs 3 and 4, diaphragm 2, pipe 5, withflexible pipe 6, of float 8, with rod 9, connected with pulley 13,mounted upon shaft 14, and of pulley 15, also mounted upon said shaftand connected with cord 16, passed over pulley 17 and provided with aweight '18, such pulley 17 being mounted upon a shaft 19, carryingindicatorarrow 20, all substantially asset forth.

3. In an apparatus substantially as described, the combination, withshaft 14 rorated by the rising and falling of float 8 and having pulley29, of carriage 25, horizontally guided on bars 23 and 24 and connectedwith pulley 29 by a cord or chain 28, and also con-' nected by a cord 31passedover a pulley 32 and carrying weight 33, a beam 39, moving invertical guides of carriage 25 and carrying pendulum lever 40 with plate42 and with pendulum-lever 50, a tilting-lever 43, connected with oneend to beam 39 by rod 45 and cord 47 and having suspended to itsopposite end a weight 49, and bars 54and 55, for swinging thependulum-lever 40, all

substantially as set. forth, to operate as specified.

4. In an apparatus substantially as described, the combination, Withcarriage 25 and with beam 39 vertically guided thereon and carryingpendulum-lever 40, provided with plate 42 for holding a coin, and withpendulumlever 50, pivoted to the lower end of lever 4:0 and buttingagainst a shoulder 51, of bars 54: and 55, for tilting the lever 40, andof inclined spout 56 and cup 57, all substantially as set forth, for thepurpose specified.

5. In an apparatus substantially as described, the combination, withcarriage 25, connected with pulley 29, mounted upon shaft 14, havingalso pulley 13, connected by a cord with rod 9, of float 8, with beam39, provided with pendulum-lever 40 and guided on carriage 25, and withbalance-lever 43, having suspended to one end the beam 39 and to itsopposite end the Weighted bar 48, and shoe 60, moving on a guide-plate50, provided with an opening for the bottom end of bar 48, such shoehaving coupled to one end a cord 61, passed over a sheave 62 andconnected with a pulley 63, also mounted upon shaft 14, and

to its opposite end a cord 64, passed over asheave 65 and havingsuspended a Weight 66, all substantially as set forth.

6. In an apparatus substantially as described, the combination, withfloat 8 and rod 9, of pulley 82, mounted upon shaft 81 and connectedWith rod 9 by a cord 83, a pulley 80, also mounted upon a shaft 81,connected by cord 79 with pulley 76, mounted upon shaft 74, upon whichis also mounted pulley 75, having suspended Weight 78, and wheel 73,having a serrated rim, and of stop-valve 68 and safety-valve 67,communicating with blow-pipe 5, and the valve 67, connected Withvibratable rod 69, having pawl '72, all substantially as set forth, forthe purpose specified. I

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

FREDERICK E. ROBINSON.

\Vitnesses:

WM. H. LoTz, OTTO LUEBKERT.

